Minden dates to 1836, and 11 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #20 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Most of Minden was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. 11 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 83 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1839.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Minden’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Minden is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #20 of 161 in Louisiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Minden’s overall grade.
Louisiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Louisiana town has 3.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Minden’s 82.1 sits above most of its state (87% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 94 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1836.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Minden’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Minden, building by building, 1885–1923
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The town's name is believed to be named for the town of Minden, New York, ultimately derived from the German city of Minden.
The city of Minden was used as a blueprint for the fictional city of Bon Temps, the setting of the Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris.
During the Civil War, a large Confederate encampment was located inside of Minden. It housed about 15,000 Confederate soldiers. The town served as a supply depot for the Confederate Army. Close to thirty Confederate soldiers who died in the Battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill are buried in the Old Minden Cemetery.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1836, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Minden’s post office opened in 1839, and the census of 1850 counted 533 people here.
How does Minden rank for history?
Minden is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #20 of 161 in Louisiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Minden?
11 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Webster Parish Library Building (listed 1980, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Minden Historic District and the Downtown Minden Historic District, with 83 contributing buildings. 94 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Minden?
6% of Minden’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1968.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (11), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1880
1900
